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US 2006/0124958 A1Published application
Cathode for an electrode source
AssigneeUniversity of Surrey
InventorsDavid Cox, Roy Forrest, Sembukutiarachilage Silva
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thermionic cathode (100) comprises an individual carbon nanotube (102) attached between two electrodes (104, 106). The electrodes (104, 106) each comprise a post (110, 112) and a carbon fibre (114, 116). A gap (118) narrower than the length of the nanotube (102) is provided between the two carbon fibres and the carbon nanotube (102) bridges the gap. This provides an extremely efficient thermionic cathode (100).
Claims18
A cathode for an electron source, the cathode comprising:
- a support for providing a gap;
- and
- a nanowire structure suspended across the gap for emitting electrons under the influence of electric potential applied to the nanowire structure via the support.
A method of manufacturing a cathode for an electron source, the method comprising:
- forming a support that provides a gap;
- and
- suspending a nanowire structure across the gap for emitting electrons under the influence of electric potential applied to the nanowire structure via the support.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.